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Kalahari134

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Everything posted by Kalahari134

  1. Kalahari134
    Essentially I'd have a physical control panel, a hardware one (whether of the interlocked lever frame that someone made in a thread a few years back or a panel with buttons) and these would output both to signals on the layout (purely for the benefit of viewers) and an output that informs the software when a signal is cleared. In its simplest (but rather expensive) incarnation, this might involve the back of the frame or panel displaying a colour when a route is set and a colour sensor recognising this. In a more complex system, one which may be beyond my electrical expertise but much cheaper than dozens of colour sensors and PUP Hubs, it might be possible to feed the route-setting status directly into the computer through USB devices (I suppose that is what some on here are getting at with their talk of Arduinos).
  2. Kalahari134
    As someone with an interest in railway signalling, I'd like to see how this could be integrated with a physical control panel. So the trains run themselves obeying the signals set by a human rather than the computer doing everything.
  3. Kalahari134
    If I cannot get hold of a replacement part for a reasonable price then I redesign the model to fit a different one in (6-high door in the CC Hotel entrance because the 5-high one is out of production for example). You can't really do that with sails because there usually isn't an alternative. I'd prefer to keep the Imperial Flagship design a) because of nostalgia and b) so it matches the flag pieces. The only non-LEGO ABS parts I've bought have been BBB train wheels and larger radius curved track, neither of which are ever likely to see a LEGO production line.
  4. Kalahari134
    I don't want all of that scrawled all over my sails. The originals have "&copy LEGO" which is discrete. The replicas are not marked as being from LEGO and the slight blackening of the edges should identify that they have been laser cut. If someone mis-sells something to you then you claim a refund. There will be plenty of people around who want to complete a set for its own sake and won't mind whether it is 100% original. They would've gone to the secondhand market in the past when they had no other choice (you can't just miss out on the sails they are one of the biggest bits of the ships) but now can take their trade elsewhere reducing the demand. Cafe Corner has plenty of rare or uncommon piece/colour combinations so to save money when Bricklinking I substitute them (or even redesign bits of it to suit my own preferences). When I get around to rebuilding my 6271 I shall not hesitate to do the same where parts have broken or yellowed and replacements are scarce.
  5. Kalahari134
    I'm afraid that it is you who has made the logical error. Hitherto, two groups of people were buying the original sails: purists and non-purists. With these new sails, the non-purists now have an alternative source and will buy fewer of the original sails, reducing the demand for them and therefore reduce the price.
  6. Kalahari134
    Yellow fabric was what was on the original, white is what I would like. I'll send an email shortly.
  7. Kalahari134
    I wonder if you'd consider doing the cloth canopies used on the fairground carousel but in white instead of the yellow they are supplied in. I'm planning on rebuilding a carousel to match the colour scheme of the roller coaster.
  8. Kalahari134
    I find the easiest way to deal with the space issue is to put up a new shelf. I haven't run out so far.
  9. Kalahari134
    The smartphone case isn't trying to be a substitute for the phone though. Unlike "these bricks are cheaper but work almost as well".
  10. Kalahari134
    I'm guessing that they show "sold out" rather than "back order" so that people don't expect them back in stock before Christmas.
  11. Kalahari134
    It doesn't have a "retiring soon" tag so will probably be back in stock but not in time for Christmas.
  12. Kalahari134
    Regarding My Own Train, what really made things inefficient was the sheer number of sets on offer. Five different vehicles, two types of locomotive, five different colour packs (did they really need brown or dark grey?), and a tender. You can't get economies of scale that way, retailers also disliked the complexity of the locomotive products. I think that slimming it down to a more manageable range such as one or two types of wagons in production at any one time, with new designs every few years, plus one or two locomotive designs, again with new designs every few years would make it more viable. Perhaps the Creator 3in1 concept could be used to stop locos being too region-specific and provide reasons to buy multiple copies. It's worth remembering that the thing that puts retailers off large, high value sets (not just trains) is that they occupy large amounts of shelf space and are slow to shift. This is unlike your police sets I wonder if bundling could be a solution. There would be separate boxes for the locomotive, wagons and a track pack and they could be sold individually or strapped together as a bundle for sale at a price less than the sum of the individual sets. I think it's been done elsewhere in City. Regarding Creator Expert trains, I'll go out on a limb and say I don't really want any. I'd rather MOC trains that are more relevant to me. What I would prefer is for LEGO to produce trains both through the City line and ideally through the normal Creator line so as to provide me with a ready supply of parts as well as introducing more children to LEGO trains (on them, the future depends). If these sets could include train windows then that would be great.
  13. Kalahari134
    Many thanks
  14. Kalahari134
    Have you close-ups of those windows?
  15. Kalahari134
    A service lift in a hotel or a lift in a hospital (large enough to fit a trolley and porter) would be great.
  16. Kalahari134
    Brit here, I quite like it so it's not just Americans. A few things I would change of course: it needs to be bigger (looks like another corner Modular I'll be buying two sets of to expand), those joins need concealing (any bright ideas, anyone?), the bog needs a seat, and I'll need to tile the ground floor. Overall, I love it though! Having a full apartment is great as it saves me having to mod one and the garage is much better incorporated than I was expecting. Might even buy a third set purely for the parts as I've no TH or GE (yet!)
  17. Kalahari134
    Because Lego would have nothing to gain from keeping quiet if it was a re-release. They'd be better off revealing early to knobble the Chinese firm.
  18. Kalahari134
    I think that 4999 was manufactured especially for Vestas' employees.
  19. Kalahari134
    It's not that long since the Rollercoaster was released.
  20. Kalahari134
    The idea that Lego wouldn't do a modular police station because there is a city one is cobblers. They serve two completely different markets. Jamie said that the main block on a modular police station is that there are so many great MOCs around that the comparisons would be endless (i.e. if they do a modular police station, it would have to be spectacularly good). Now, we mustn't have that Manhattan police station getting all the glory. Here is Great Scotland Yard:
  21. Kalahari134
    I budget and then overspend.
  22. Kalahari134
    I seem to remember a hoax garage last year. To be honest, I doubt that they'd do another Art Deco building so soon after the last one.
  23. Kalahari134
    Personally, I think that a Winter Village set based on a chapel might be a good idea. It needn't have a religious function, just have that sort of architecture and maybe a choir.
  24. Kalahari134
    With the retirement announcement, I've just taken delivery of a second BB so that I can make the Bank full-sized and turn the Laundromat into a 16w.
  25. Kalahari134
    In my view, PR struck the balance just right. The ring provides an opportunity for a story without many extra pieces. You are free to take it either way or omit it altogether if you want.
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